People either love or misunderstand Scions. Spearheaded by a massively hip and youthful urban marketing campaign, Scion's push into the car market has been both swift and successful. Maybe it's the distinctively un-Ferrari econobox styling; maybe it's the straight-off-the-streets-of-Tokyo design elements, or maybe it's the fact that you don't have to be an oil tycoon to afford one. Whatever the reason, Scion's lineup is a smashing success and cars are disappearing from dealer lots faster than my life savings.
The two "weirdest"-looking models are obviously the jellybean xA and the refrigerator's cousin xB. Most buyers jump straight for the xB, but xAs can be built, too; remember Paul Natividad's (by the way: Paul, nice work in the Scion TV ad) big-bore, turbocharged feature Scion? (Feb. 2005.) This particular xA is the product of Autofashion's Freddie Fernandez and his dedication to style. Built for grandeur, looks and show rather than speed and performance, Fernandez's xA sports more custom interior work, rare exterior work and audio/visual goodness than any other offshoot of the Toyota Motor Corporation.
Fernandez's pathway to 2NR fame begins with the most obvious step, purchasing a 2004 Scion xA. With his 1991 Honda Civic slowly dying out, Fernandez was interested in purchasing a car he could resist modifying. We all know how that goes. Rocking a license plate combining "ILL" with the Japanese market name for the xA, the "IST," Fernandez had to try and build a Scion worthy of the plate. One of the first Scion buyers, Fernandez had trouble sourcing parts. In addition, it sucked to be a xA owner, because most of the parts that were available were made for the more popular xB.
Ever the R&D engineer, Fernandez decided to source whatever he could, even if it meant custom parts and road testing done by him and him alone. Starting off with lowering springs, Fernandez found out R&D sucks. Offering the worst ride quality known to man, the suspect springs caused so many issues that the shock bolts eventually loosened from the constant vibrations and harshness.
Looking for some nice wheels for his ride next, Fernandez only ended up with more headaches. Most wheel companies didn't have offsets low enough for the Scion; they only had wheels for the Civic and Integra. Custom wheels would solve his problems, except for one tiny issue that arises with custom wheels: They cost a truckload of cash. Fernandez compromised with a set of 19-inch +42 offset Racing Harts but experienced some extreme fender rubbing.